AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) Shares Bought by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) by 20.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,648 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 7,940 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.16% of AZZ worth $3,681,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in AZZ in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $9,715,000. Intrinsic Edge Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AZZ in the fourth quarter valued at $1,162,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AZZ in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AZZ during the first quarter valued at $215,000. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AZZ during the 1st quarter worth about $237,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.93% of the company’s stock.

AZZ Stock Performance

NYSE:AZZ opened at $82.04 on Friday. AZZ Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $43.48 and a fifty-two week high of $88.67. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $78.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.31. The company has a market cap of $2.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 76.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $413.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $403.25 million. AZZ had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 7.22%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. Analysts expect that AZZ Inc. will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AZZ

In related news, insider Tara D. Mackey sold 331 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.50, for a total value of $27,638.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 34,229 shares in the company, valued at $2,858,121.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other AZZ news, insider Tara D. Mackey sold 331 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.50, for a total value of $27,638.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,858,121.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Bryan Lee Stovall sold 14,545 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.79, for a total value of $1,233,270.55. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,695,800. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders bought 1,511 shares of company stock worth $52,794. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZZ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of AZZ in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Baird R W raised shares of AZZ to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. B. Riley lifted their target price on shares of AZZ from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird began coverage on AZZ in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $90.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Noble Financial raised AZZ from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AZZ has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.80.

About AZZ

AZZ Inc provides hot-dip galvanizing and coil coating solutions in North America. It offers metal finishing solutions for corrosion protection, including hot-dip galvanizing, spin galvanizing, powder coating, anodizing, and plating to steel fabrication and other industries, as well as to fabricators or manufacturers that provide services to the transmission and distribution, bridge and highway, petrochemical, and general industrial markets; and original equipment manufacturers.